I'm Sorry I Can't Be Perfect
by distantmuse
Summary: After surviving the 60 day pact, Addison and Mark have been living together for 4 months, and are enjoying a great relationship. Will that change when a relative arrives with news that will change both of their lives forever? Maddison. Final chapter is up
1. Chapter 1

_I've been wanting to write Maddison for a while, but I couldn't think of a unique-ish situation to stick them in… So, I don't know, this idea popped into my head and kept asking and asking to be written… Bear with me. _

_What's in this fic, you may wonder? Well, I'm giving Addison a back story, for one thing (because I love to do that since the real show won't). I'm giving her a visiting relative who will have a big impact on her life and her future. Most of this will be Mark and Addison dealing with the situation this relative has put them in... That's my conflict, because I didn't want to write a bunch of fluff with no plan… So, that's the plan. Read and enjoy. :)_

_I own nothing, I make no money off of my creative writing, so please don't sue. The title is taken from Simple Plan's song, "Perfect." Please don't sue for that either._

_**Scenario:** Mark and Addison survived the 60 days, and have been sharing a penthouse for four months without any major problems… Until now. ;) Other couples are as stands in the series as of 3.19, minus Izzie/George because I think it's gross and I don't wanna deal with that drama._

* * *

Addison stood in the baggage claim area of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, waiting impatiently for her sixteen-year-old sister that she had been told she had to pick up only 7 hours before. When their mother had called that morning and said that her sister was on her way out to Seattle to shadow Addison and learn about medicine for a few weeks of her summer vacation, Addison had been shocked. Her sister always seemed to be more interested in art than other areas of academia. And why hadn't her mother provided her with more warning? 

She barely even _knew_ her sister. After all, Addison had been twenty when Cadence was born and over four hours away from their hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut, attending Cornell. When she had attended medical school at Columbia, she'd been only forty or so miles away, but didn't have the time to stop by for visits.

Cadence was a mid-life accident baby, and she knew it. She was raised as an only child from the time she was eight, but grew up in the shadows of siblings that she barely knew, but was expected to live up to. Her half-hearted attempts at extra curricular activities and her struggling B-average were not impressive to parents who had also created the country's foremost neonatal surgeon and a leading NASA engineer.

Though it had been a while since she had seen her, Addison immediately recognized Cadence when she entered the baggage claim area, a Coach duffel slung over her shoulder. It's what Addison could have looked like in an alternate universe – one without braces. Her sister was of average height, with the same red locks that Addison had, but with their father's emerald green eyes instead of their mother's and Addison's baby blue ones. She was dressed plainly, in an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of baggy jeans. With some nicer clothes, which Cadence undoubtedly owned, she would be a knockout.

When Addison embraced her, something didn't feel right. Addison held Cadence back at arm's length, stared at her hard, and gasped when she realized what it was.

Her flower girl, her baby sister, was pregnant.

"You're…" Addison stumbled a little over the words. "You're pregnant."

Cadence was confused. "Mom and dad didn't tell you?"

"No…" Addison said slowly, still reeling from the shock. "They didn't. They said you were coming because you wanted to learn about medicine…"

"Medicine?" Cadence's jaw dropped and she laughed a little. "They told you that? And you believe them? Come on, you know I hate science."

"I thought it sounded weird, but it's been a year and half since I've seen you, and people change." Addison glanced down at Cadence's stomach again. "A lot, apparently… But why are you here, then?"

"They basically kicked me out." Cadence sighed. "They told me I could come out here and live with you for a few months, and they claimed you'd already said it was okay… Some kind of rehab from the perfect daughter, I guess. The other science geek is in Australia..." Cadence was referring to their 26-year-old brother, Bradford. "Something about researching helicopter rotor blades… I don't know. So, apparently, you get me. Lucky you."

Addison digested the information, but didn't know how to respond. The sister part of her wanted to scream and yell at Cadence. The OB/GYN part was sympathetic to the situation, and wanted to help her. She decided she would have to opt for somewhere in between. Cadence had made a mistake. Addison couldn't fault her for that – she'd made plenty of her own.

Addison's highly trained eyes quickly evaluated the bump while they waited for Cadence's baggage to circle around. "5 months?"

"Yeah. Maybe you _do_ deserve the big bucks." Cadence quipped.

Addison ignored the comment. She spotted Cadence's Coach suitcase that matched her duffel circling toward them and swiftly grabbed it off of the baggage carousel. "Have you at least had pre-natal care?"

"No…"

"Okay." Addison willed herself not to be angry with her sister, or their parents. Had they learned nothing from the stories she'd told them for years? "It's fine. We'll go to the hospital tomorrow and get that taken care of." She paused for a moment. She had to ask. "How did it happen?"

"You're an OB/GYN, Addie. Do you need me to draw you a picture?" Cadence crossed her arms.

Addison slowly inhaled, trying to keep from being annoyed with her sister. Had she been this pissed off at the world as a teenager? Of course she had… But she could finally see why it had gotten on her parents' nerves so much.

"No protection?"

"The condom broke."

"When did you tell mom and dad?"

"Two days ago."

"_What?_" Addison whirled around and looked at her sister. "Two days ago? How in the hell did they not notice, all that time? And they just flew you out here... That was it?"

"Yeah…" Cadence shrugged. "They're not around _to_ notice. They don't give a damn… Unless their reputation is at stake obviously…"

"Oh, Cady…" Addison's voice softened. "What did they say?"

"First, mom yelled at me for smearing _her_ good name of 'Forbes,' then dad lit into me for ruining _his_ good name of 'Montgomery.' Then, they both screamed at me for ruining their perfect affluent suburban image. I mean, can you _imagine_ if the neighbors found out?" Cadence said dramatically, mocking their mother.

"Well, one of their neighbors _is_ Donald Trump…" Addison pointed out with a slight smile.

"Like he's never had a scandal?" Cadence snorted.

Addison sighed, her gaze still fixated on her younger sister's distended stomach, even as they walked through the airport. "Cady, why didn't you call me? I could have done… Something. I could have had the morning after pill prescribed for you, since you're not old enough to buy it over the counter… I could have—"

"Why would I call _you_?" Cadence narrowed her eyes. "Oh, that's right. You're Miss – I'm sorry – _DR._ Perfect. That's what our parents think, anyway."

Addison sighed again. It was true, though Cadence was exaggerating it.

"Of course…" Cadence continued bitterly, "They always seem to forget that you had an affair, shacked up with the guy for two months, and got a divorce. But I guess it doesn't matter what you do to screw up your personal life when you make millions of dollars a year saving lives."

"Would you please stop with the sullen teenager act?" Addison rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"It's not an act." Cadence insisted. "I _am_ a sullen teenager."

Addison took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm willing to work with you here, but kill the lip, Cadence Forbes Montgomery…" The three siblings had their mother's maiden name as their middle name. Cadence hated it, and Addison knew that. It was the best way she could express how serious she was about what she was about to say "Or I'll have you on a plane back to Connecticut so fast…"

"Okay, okay… Got it." Cadence mumbled sheepishly. "Sorry." Addison gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"For someone with a musical name, you are _not_ very harmonious, you know." Addison said as she opened the trunk of her BMW to put Cadence's suitcase in it.

"I hate my name anyway." Cadence griped.

"What _do_ you like then?" Addison slammed the trunk shut.

Cadence thought for a moment. "Spaghetti. Oh, and art. That's about it."

Addison shook her head as they entered the car. "Well, I do remember _that_ much about you."

It was a warm summery day, very unlike Seattle, so Addison put the convertible top down. Their twin copper hair whipped in the breeze and they rode in silence for several miles, with Addison wondering how Mark was going to react that they suddenly had a houseguest – and might for a few months.

"Were you in love?" Addison finally asked, lightly drumming her fingers against the steering wheel as she drove.

"I thought I was… But I guess Anthony didn't feel the same way… He ran the moment he found out." Cadence stared to the side and watched as the foreign city whizzed by her. "I guess I'm too young to love someone."

Addison cast a side glance at the young woman, and then concentrated on the road stretched out ahead of them. "You're not too young to love someone… You're never too young to love. But yes, you will find that it changes as you get older… A lot."

"What am I going to do?" Cadence whispered, absently placing a hand on her stomach. For the first time since she had arrived, she seemed vulnerable. "What should I do, Addie?"

"I can't answer that… You'll have to decide that for yourself." Addison replied honestly.

Addison wondered if she should tell Cadence about her abortion. She tried, but she couldn't seem to force her lips to form the words.

* * *

_Thoughts? There is always method to my madness. :)_

_Next, Mark is re-introduced to Cadence, and shares a secret with Meredith._


	2. Chapter 2

_I've been kicking the site for being screwy lately... Thank you to Yahoo Answers for telling me how to upload without using the document manager… If any other writers out there needs help doing it, let me know and I'll tell you how I got this up. _

_So, on to the next chapter. In my story, the interns are still interns. That probably wouldn't be true by this point, but if the real show can mess with time, why can't I? _

_

* * *

_

"Is it just me, or is this elevator _incredibly_ slow?" Cadence asked Addison, waiting impatiently for the car to ascend five floors. "I mean, especially for a hospital, when you're rushing people in and out of surgery and what not? Shouldn't it zip up and down?"

Addison snorted. "You should see how slow it seems when you're on it with the wrong people."

As though on cue, the doors opened and Derek walked onto the elevator. With a sigh, Addison turned her head and looked at Cadence pointedly. "See what I mean?"

"Cadence." Derek's eyes fell on his former sister-in-law with surprise. He had always been fond of Cadence, though he treated her more like one of his similarly aged nieces than a sister-in-law. He gave her a hug, then stepped back and looked at her. His eyes widened in shock, a reaction she was used to by then. "You're… Pregnant!"

It was easy for Derek to notice her weight gain. Cadence had shed the sweatshirt she wore to stay comfortable on the plane and was wearing a t-shirt and jeans that didn't try to hide her figure. She had received some disapproving glances when she and Addison had walked through the hospital together, but she ignored them. She was used to those, too.

"Thank you, Derek!" Cadence rolled her eyes. "I'm glad I had a brain surgeon like you to tell me that. I thought I was just getting really fat. What a relief!"

"A ball of sunshine as always, I see." Derek shook his head, and turned to Addison. "She was so sweet when she was 5, when she was our flower girl..."

"Not really." Addison laughed. "Don't you remember? She threw a tantrum when she ran out of flowers."

"Ahhh, yes, I do remember that…" Derek turned back to Cadence. "What brings you to Seattle?"

"It is not acceptable to be knocked up when you are the 16-year-old daughter of Nadine and Edmund Montgomery." Cadence informed him. "So, they stuck Addison with me."

"Oh." Derek said simply, too flustered to say anything else.

It didn't surprise him that his ex-in laws had rejected her. They had always been more concerned with money, their appearances, and their jobs – Edmund as a corporate attorney, Nadine as the head of a charitable foundation the Montgomery family had founded – than their children. Addison and Bradford had slightly better luck than Cadence, having followed the mold of intelligence, wealth, and fame that their parents had envisioned for them. Cadence didn't seem to be on the road to any of those things; not the way her parents wanted her to be.

"Okay then… So…" Derek cleared his throat.

"This elevator is so freaking slow! Seriously!" Cadence cried out, mashing the sticky button labeled "5," as though it would get her to her floor faster.

Derek smiled at Addison. "She's going to fit in just fine here."

* * *

"Hey, Karev." Mark called down the hall to Alex, who was returning a chart to the nurse's station. "Have you seen Addison?" 

Alex turned around at the sound of his name. "She went to the airport."

"What? Why… Why would she do that?" Mark's eyes widened in alarm and he turned quickly on his heel, ready to take off down the hall. His head was filled with memories of when a nurse at their hospital in NYC had told him that Addison had gone to the airport, when she left for Seattle.

"Wait, dude, where are you going?" Alex caught Mark's sleeve and tugged him back. "She's picking someone up; not flying out."

"Who is she picking up?" Mark asked curiously.

Alex didn't have a chance to answer. They heard Addison's high heels around the corner before they saw her strolling down the hall with Cadence in tow. Mark's eyebrows jumped at the sight of his girlfriend's sister. What was _she_ doing there?

* * *

"Ugh. Mark." Cadence groaned under her breath when he came into her view. 

Cadence didn't particularly care for Mark, seeing him as the reason that her sister's marriage had dissolved. She wasn't aware of the problems that Derek and Addison had before Mark ever entered the picture.

"Be nice." Addison nudged Cadence's ribs. "I do live with him, you know. And you will, too. Remember what I said about working with me, or going back to Connecticut?"

"Okay. Okay." Cadence grumbled. Her eyes lit up when she noticed Alex talking to him. "Who is _that_ tasty dish? I wouldn't mind a piece of that…"

"Don't you think you're in enough trouble?" Addison cast a concerned side glance at Cadence. She didn't think her sister would make a serious move towards Alex, but it worried her that she was openly talking about a man ten years her senior that way.

"What, you wouldn't want to make out with him?" Cadence asked.

"Been there, done that." Addison said with a slight smirk.

"Lucky bitch…" Cadence mumbled.

"Can you please shut up about how hot you think he is?" Addison hissed. "We're almost close enough for them to hear us…"

" Addison!" Mark looked relieved for some reason when he saw her. He tugged her to him, a little more tightly than usual. Addison hugged him back with as much effort, but was slightly confused by the display of affection.

"Hi… You remember Cadence, right?" Addison asked, leaning her face in to give Mark a kiss.

"Yes, Cadence… Of course." Mark nodded and looked her up and down. "You've been… Busy."

Addison kept a smile on her face, but dug the stiletto heel of her shoe into the soft leather at the top of Mark's sneaker. He always had to open his big mouth, didn't he? Mark bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain.

"It's good to see you again." Mark quickly covered.

"I needed to swing by to check on a patient, so I thought that I would show Cadence around." Addison explained.

"Ahh." Mark said slowly. "I see. Well, since you're here… I need you on a consult."

"Really?" Addison arched a brow. It was rare that their two specialties crossed paths. There weren't too many infants demanding rhinoplasty. "Well… Okay. Let's go to my office. Cadence, you can have a seat outside."

* * *

"So, what do you have for me? A cleft pallet or something?" Addison asked, once they were safely in her office with the door closed. 

"Okay, so it's not a real consult. I just want to know what she's doing here." Mark said bluntly.

"What do you think?" Addison threw up her hands. "Mom and dad threw her out and sent her to me."

"And you didn't know?" Mark was skeptical.

"Early this morning, I was told her to pick her up at the airport. I was told she was interested in learning about medicine. Clearly, I was lied to." Addison sighed.

"You could have told me she was coming…" Mark said stiffly.

"You were in surgery all morning!" Addison defended herself. "I didn't think it was worth busting into your surgery for, or pulling you out for… It was only supposed to be for a few weeks."

"And now?" Mark prodded.

"I'm going to have to call my parents and talk to them." Addison said. "But if they won't take her back…"

"They're her legal guardians." Mark argued. "They _have _to take her back. They can't just give her away because they don't like something she did."

"I know. And I don't disagree with that." Addison said quietly. "But we're all that she has right now, Mark…"

"How am I supposed to live with a teenaged girl?" Mark paced Addison's office. "I don't think I've even _talked_ to a teenaged girl since I was a teenaged boy."

"Stop thatYou're going to wear a hole in my carpet." Addison rolled her eyes. "I don't know… Just treat her like a kid sister."

Mark's lip jutted out slightly in a pout. She hated that he could be so boyishly cute, even when he was doing something that irritated her. It always melted her heart and she couldn't be mad at him.

"I'm an only child." Mark protested. "I don't do siblings."

"Then treat her like a friend?" Addison suggested.

"I don't have many of those either." Mark admitted.

"Well… I know you occasionally give teenaged girls nose jobs, so you should have some idea of what they're like." Addison said.

"But I mean… What does she do?" Mark ran a hand through his hair. "What does she eat? What does she like?"

Addison hid a smile. "She's 16, Mark... She's not a wild animal or an alien."

"Might as well be." Mark grumbled.

"Just ask her. Look, I'm going to call my mother later and see what the hell is going on with them." Addison wrapped her arms around Mark's waist and pulled him against her. "Until we figure out what we're going to do, we'll just make up the guest room for her."

"Do we even have a bed in there?" Mark asked.

Addison slapped his arm playfully. "Yes, we have a bed in there! Remember? When we…"

"Ohhh… Right." Mark nipped playfully at her neck. "I do remember that…"

"Mark…" Addison gently pushed him away from her. "Not now, okay? She's just outside."

Mark frowned. Cadence had only just arrived, and she was already ruining his sex life.

* * *

"Oh my God." Meredith said in shock. She abruptly stopped walking just short of the nurse's station and tugged at Cristina's arm. "Who in the hell is that?" 

"What?" Cristina looked up from the chart in her hands and followed Meredith's eyes to see Cadence, who was playing with her iPod and oblivious to their stares. "Wow… It's Addison, 20 years ago."

"That kid looks almost _exactly_ like a mini-Addison." Meredith said softly.

"Except the clothes." Cristina noted. " Addison wouldn't be caught dead in that t-shirt."

"Do you think that she and Derek…" Meredith trailed off. "Do you think that she could be their daughter?"

"You immediately jump to _that_ conclusion? Who says she's even related to Addison?" Cristina asked.

"So a girl who looks just like Addison, but is unrelated to her, just _happens_ to be sitting outside her office?" Meredith sounded dubious.

"They were only married 11 years, weren't they?" Cristina asked. "That girl is older than that…"

"Like that means anything? They wouldn't have to be married to have a kid…" Meredith said, unable to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

"If it is their kid, he's going to be McGrandpa." Cristina muttered.

The two dropped their voices to low whispers when Addison and Mark walked out of Addison's office, though they couldn't resist sneaking a few glances at Cadence in, trying to figure out whether she could be Addison's daughter.

Meredith and Cristina were never subtle, and Addison quickly noticed their behavior and linked it back to her sister. Addison looked directly at Meredith, who still had an anxious look on her face. Addison was partially annoyed – but then she remembered that Derek had kept _her_ a secret from Meredith… Maybe Meredith's paranoia wasn't _completely _unfounded. Addison placed her hands on Cadence's shoulders and steered Cadence over to Meredith. She stopped just in front of her. Meredith looked from side to side for some kind of escape.

"Meredith, this is Cadence. I know what you're thinking. But she's my sister, not my daughter." Addison paused, then decided that she just had to have some fun with the moment. "Our secret daughter's name is Andrea. She's 10 and goes to boarding school in Switzerland."

Addison waited just long enough to see the shocked expression on Meredith's face before spinning on her heel and walking down the hall toward her patient's room. Cadence, having recognized the intern's name, bit her lip to stifle a laugh before following her.

"Relax, Grey…" Addison called over her shoulder. "I'm kidding. Find something else to gossip about."

"She really is evil." Meredith muttered to Mark.

Mark watched his girlfriend's retreating figure fondly, a smile forming on his lips. "She is, isn't she?"

"What is her sister doing here?" Meredith asked. Cristina, having lost interest in the conversation, took off, presumably to find a surgery to participate in.

"She ruined her parents' vision of a perfect Catholic family, you see." Mark explained.

"Well, um… Didn't Addison do that?" Meredith pointed out, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yes, and so did Addison's mother." Mark said. "But everything is more forgivable when you're successful, rather than when you're the screwed up, black sheep of the family."

"Speaking from experience?" Meredith asked.

Mark shrugged and began fiddling with his Blackberry uncomfortably. "Not really. I'm an only child… But I can understand the ridiculous standards of perfection."

"How do you feel about this?" Meredith asked. "I mean, she's kind of ruining your perfect co-habitation with Addison, isn't she?"

Mark looked up at her in shock. It was rare that anyone at Seattle Grace cared to ask about his feelings – people just incorrectly assumed that he didn't have any.

"Well, I sort of had plans, yes." Mark admitted.

"What kind of plans?" Meredith asked.

Mark dug into the pocket of his lab coat and produced a baby blue box tied with a white bow that could only have come from Tiffany's, and undoubtedly contained a ring that cost more than Meredith's car. Meredith gawked at the box for a moment, and then looked back to Mark.

"Do you think she's ready?" Meredith asked.

"I hope so… I think so, or I wouldn't have bought the ring." Mark shoved it back into his pocket.

"You just carry it around with you?" Meredith was slightly amused. "Aren't you afraid she'll accidentally find it one day?"

Mark shrugged. "Nah. I figured the perfect moment might strike sometime. Wouldn't want to be unprepared."

"Give her a little time." Meredith advised. "Let her deal with this thing with her sister."

"Trust me." Mark said, back to his arrogant self. "I know what I'm doing. I know Addison. I'll know when the time is right."

"She's coming back." Meredith hissed.

"You get off in ten minutes, right?" Addison asked.

"Yes…" Mark said slowly. It sounded like she was up to something.

"Can you take Cadence home with you? I need to… Take care of something before I come home." Addison said.

Mark glanced at Cadence, trying to hide his horror at the idea of being locked in a car with a pregnant, hormonal teenager for twenty minutes; fifteen if he sped. He swallowed and looked back at Addison, plastering a smile on his face and bobbing his head up and down a little more enthusiastically than necessary.

"Of course, honey." Mark said a bit too sweetly.

* * *

After locking her office door behind her, Addison dialed the familiar phone number and reclined back in her chair, preparing for a long conversation. As the phone rang in her ear, she prayed that she would hear her father's voice on the other end of the line – not her mother's. While she had issues with both of her parents – and certainly more after they dumped Cadence on her – she got along with her father far better than her mother. 

"Hello?"

Addison frowned when she heard the female voice on the other end of the line, and took a deep breath. "Mom. We need to talk."

* * *

_Sorry that there wasn't a great deal of plot development in this chapter, but this part kind of had to be done. The next chapter will have more towards the plot, I promise. :)_

_Next: Addison talks to her mother, Mark tries to figure out how to socialize with a teenaged girl, and Addison enlists Izzie's help._


	3. Chapter 3

"Talk?" Nadine's voice was nervous on the other end of the line. She was playing dumb. "About what?"

"You lied to me! You lied to her!" Addison exclaimed

"So, I guess Cady got there safely." Nadine said, avoiding Addison's accusations.

"Like you even care?" Addison snorted.

"Of course I care… She's my daughter."

"Then why did you send her out here?"

"She's not acting in a way that I expect a Montgomery to behave."

"I have a life out here, a demanding job and a boyfriend. She's your daughter. She's your responsibility. You can't just send her to me and expect me to deal with your problems because you're _embarrassed. _What about the affair I had? Why am I off the hook for my mistake, but she's not? Oh, wait a minute. What about the affair _you_ had?" Addison was intentionally striking a nerve.

"Addie, that has nothing to do with…"

"Oh, but it does! How conveniently you forget that. Of course, Cadence doesn't even _know_ about that since it happened before she was born."

In fact, only Addison (and Mark and Derek, because she told them) and Nadine knew about it. Addison had come home one weekend freshman year and caught Nadine with her plastic surgeon, during a rather intimate inspection of her breast implants that could not be considered medical. When Derek had caught Addison with Mark, he had said, _Like mother like daughter._ Addison would never get those words out of her head, though she thought that on some level, she had _wanted_ to get caught.

"You wouldn't tell her." Nadine scoffed.

"You're right. I wouldn't." Addison admitted. "But not to protect _your _ass. To protect _her_ because she doesn't deserve any more pain."

Addison could picture the face that her mother was making, because though she would have never admitted it, it was the same face that _she_ would have made.

"It's just like Brad. You love to tell everyone about how talented he is, but I bet that no one at the country club knows that Brad is gay, right?" Addison's question was met with silence. "That's what I thought. Because that doesn't fit into your idea of perfection."

"I've never expected you three to be perfect. To have class and be socially appropriate? Yes." Nadine argued. "But perfect? Never."

"Really?" Addison questioned. "Because it certainly seems that way. She's 16, Mom. She already thinks that you hate her, that she's not good enough because of the careers that Brad and I have. You could be doing permanent psychological damage here by abandoning her like this."

"I sent her out there because I wanted you to help her. You work with girls like her all the time." Nadine said. "I don't know how to handle her."

"What exactly do you expect me to do?" Addison asked, her anger building.

"I want you to encourage her to abort the baby… Or have it, but give it up for adoption." Nadine said simply, as though it was as simple as encouraging Cadence to choose a certain meal for dinner.

"Oh, no no no! I'm not going to encourage her to do anything." Addison said firmly.

"Why not?" Nadine demanded.

"She needs to make the choice that she thinks is right, and if she chooses wrong with my help, that could come back on me someday." Addison said. "No thanks. I don't want any part of that. I will make sure she is informed about her options, and I'll support the one she chooses, but I will not tell her what she should do."

"Coming home with a baby will _not_ be an option for her." Nadine stated. "So, you might as well tell her that."

There was a click in Addison's ear and the dial tone returned. Addison flung plastic handset, knocking a crystal paperweight in the shape of the Eiffel Tower off of her desk (oh well, it had been a honeymoon gift from Derek anyway). She listened as it hit the floor and smashed into hundreds of pieces, then sighed. The sound of a man clearing his throat forced her to look up and realize that Richard was standing in her doorway.

Wordlessly, Richard crossed the room, stooped, and patiently helped her pick the smashed pieces up off of the floor. She muttered some words of gratitude under her breath, bringing her wastebasket around to the other side of her desk and getting down on the floor to help him.

"What did Mark do?" Richard finally asked.

"Mark?" Addison laughed bitterly. "No, Mark didn't do this. I can handle Mark. I can't handle my mother."

Richard gave her a questioning look, so she sighed, and told him the story, starting from the first phone conversation with her mother that morning. The good friend that he was, Richard listened to her without interjecting, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder when she was finished.

"Sounds like you got screwed." Richard observed.

"Yeah, I did." Addison laughed.

"Well… Just be a good sister to her. It sounds like you are. Keep it up. Don't let her frustrate you." Richard advised.

"Do you think that I should tell her what mom said? About not coming home if she keeps the baby?" Addison asked.

Richard shook his head. "I wouldn't… She needs to make the decision without worrying about the outside factors like that. If she decides to keep it, you can help her work that out with her parents, but I'd hate to think that she would make a decision she didn't want based on your mother saying that.

Addison nodded. "That's true."

Richard gave her a hug. "You'll figure out what to do… You always do."

* * *

"Do you like the Backstreet Boys?" Mark asked, desperate to make conversation in what was a silent car ride from the hospital.

Cadence burst out laughing. "The Backstreet Boys? Are you kidding me?"

They were silent for a few moments.

"Okay then… Do you like that guy on Lost? That Matthew Fox guy?" Mark asked.

Cadence wrinkled her nose. "He's old."

"That makes me feel good…" Mark mumbled. "He's not much older than I am…"

"You're old, too." Cadence bantered.

He paused again. "Do you wear those clothes that say 'Pink' across the ass?"

"Sometimes." Cadence bit her lip to hide a smile at how clueless he was.

"What's with that anyway?" Mark asked. "Why would you want to walk around with something plastered across your ass?"

Cadence shrugged. "It's cute… And they're like $40 for a pair of sweatpants, so you can walk around looking lazy and people know you spent decent money on them, for a pair of sweatpants anyway… People won't think you're a total scrub."

"Oh…" Mark paused for a moment and sighed. "Look, I'm trying here. I have very little experience with teenage girls… Just the types who have parents who let them get breast implants, okay?"

"Gotcha."

A few more minutes passed by in silence.

"So… Cadence…" Mark said, deciding to make another attempt at conversation. Why, he wasn't sure – perhaps he was glutton for punishment. "What are your interests?"

"Photography. Art. Oh, I don't know, what else…" Cadence looked out the window of his Mercedes. She was still interested in observing the scenery of the city she had never visited before that day, but was somehow a temporary resident of, especially as a photographer. "Sex, drugs, rock and roll…"

Mark looked at her with a raised brow and she looked back at him with a smirk. "Well, one of the three, obviously." Cadence said, resting her hands on her stomach.

"I see…"

"It's not like I was a big slut." Cadence said, as though she thought she owed him an explanation. "It was one guy. One guy and I thought he loved me. But he didn't."

Mark thought back to his adolescence, and wondered how many girls he had led to believe he loved to get them into bed. He felt a pang of guilt at the expression on Cadence's face – the pain in her eyes – though all of the girls _he_ might have hurt back were well into their thirties by then, and had assuredly gotten over it.

"Men suck. Want me to kick his ass for you?" Mark asked.

"That's okay… I just wish I hadn't been so stupid…" Cadence picked at her fingernails, trying to keep tears from filling her eyes.

"I understand… Sometimes love makes you do things that you wouldn't normally do." Mark said with a shrug, thinking to the beginning of his relationship with Addison.

"Right." Cadence paused. "How long were you screwing my sister before you got caught?"

Mark laughed at the fact that she thought she was entitled to an answer to that question. But what the hell? She had opened to him. He could do the same. "About 15 minutes?"

"That's not what I meant." Cadence rolled her eyes. "And that's _too_ much information. I mean, how long had you guys been hooking up? Weeks? Months? Years?"

"That was the first time…" Mark said, leaning back in his seat while they were stopped at a traffic light. "We spent a lot of time together before that. I know you like Derek, but he didn't take good care of her. He never came home on time. It got to the point where he never slept next to her, he just slept in his office or the on-call room. She was very lonely… I spent time with her... A _lot_ of time with her. We kissed several times before that, but we always stopped ourselves… Until that time."

"Maybe you're not such a bad guy after all, then." Cadence noted.

"Well, _good_ guys don't sleep with their best friend's wives…" Mark admitted. "But it wasn't about sex. I fell in love with her."

"Good to know…" Cadence said, turning her attention back to the window. "All sex does is get people in trouble…

Mark chuckled as he turned onto their street. "Don't I know it…"

* * *

An hour later, Addison watched from the doorway of her living room, amused by the sight of her boyfriend and her sister bent over "Cavity Sam" and discussing the best course of action to remove a slice of bread from the patient's stomach.

"You're going to have to turn it a little bit." Cadence warned.

"I've got it… I've got it…" An annoying buzz resounded in the room as the patient's red nose bulb glowed. Mark swore.

"Face Magazine rated me the top plastic surgeon in the country!" He dropped the last plastic piece back into the patient's body cavity for the third time. "How can this be happening?"

Addison covered her mouth to hide a smile, gathering that he was on the losing end of their game of Operation. Mark hated losing.

"Face Magazine? Seriously?" Cadence snickered.

"Yes, seriously." Mark glared at her, and threw down the game's tweezers.

"Well, you know… This _is_ plastic surgery. They are plastic pieces. You _should_ be better at this." Cadence pointed out, picking up the tweezers. She carefully navigated them into gap, gripped the tiny, plastic piece of bread between them, and pulled it out without touching the sides. "Ha! I win! Take that, plastic boy."

Mark shook his head. "You are just like your sister… You gloat."

"Like you wouldn't have gloated?" Cadence snorted. "Just admit it. I'm the Operation champion."

"Oh, I'll show _both_ of you how it's done." Addison said as she set down her purse and grocery bags. "Put all of the pieces back."

Mark and Cadence looked up at Addison in surprise, finally noticing that she was in the room. They dropped the pieces back into their spaces and Addison picked up the tweezers.

"Go ahead. Time me." Addison encouraged.

Mark rolled his eyes, but set his watch timer.

In less than a minute, all of the pieces were sitting next to Addison, without the nose lighting up or the buzz sounding even once. Mark and Cadence looked at her and blinked a few times in amazement.

"_How_ did you do that?" Mark asked, still staring in awe at her pile of pieces.

Addison grinned and pressed her lips against his. "I'm neonatal. I work on babies. I'm used to tiny spaces."

"Geez..." Cadence shook her head. "If I ever needed a surgeon, I'd want you." She tilted her head at Mark. "You, probably not."

Mark crossed his arms. "It's a _board game_."

"I'm cooking spaghetti with homemade sauce." Addison announced and stood up. "Cadence, you should unpack and rest while I make dinner. I put your suitcase in the guest room." Cadence nodded and obediently went into the other room to get settled.

Mark raised an eyebrow. Addison's idea of cooking was usually re-heating takeout, or at its most difficult, unwrapping and heating up a Lean Cuisine. "You're cooking."

"Yes." Addison picked up the bags and walked toward the kitchen.

Mark slowly followed after her. "But… You can't cook."

"I _don't_ cook. I never said that I _can't_ cook." Addison dug through the bag, pulling out tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Mark still looked at her questioningly. "I'm trying to make her feel at home, okay? It's her favorite food."

She ducked under the counter and dug around in the cabinet until she found a cutting board that had never been used before. Mark helped her rinse off the vegetables and unpacked the rest of her groceries.

"What did your mom say?" Mark asked.

Addison whacked the top off of a pepper with such brute force that Mark knew that he had his answer.

"Uhh... That good, huh?" Mark said, taking a couple of steps back from Addison and her large knife.

"She's a bitch." Addison hacked away at the green vegetable without the grace and delicacy of a surgeon – more like a butcher.

"So… Cadence is with us for the foreseeable future." Mark stated, sneaking to grab a chopped piece of pepper when Addison had safely placed the knife down and turned to pick up an onion.

"Yes…" Addison sighed. "I'm sorry. I really am."

Mark shrugged. Of course he wasn't thrilled with the idea of sharing his home with a basket of hormones, but he wasn't without a soul, and he did feel sorry for the way she'd been thrown out. "

"We'll work it out." Mark promised.

Addison smiled weakly. "You're sure you want to?"

Mark playfully popped a piece of pepper into Addison's mouth and swept her into his arms. "Anything for you, babe."

* * *

"Dr. Stevens." Addison called out the next day, prompting the blonde doctor to swirl around. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Izzie slowly approached her with a slight look of fear on her face, wondering if she had done something wrong.

"As you've probably heard, my sister Cadence is in town, and she's pregnant…" Addison explained. "She hasn't had any prenatal exams yet. I know this isn't surgical, hopefully, but I was wondering if you could help me… You're really good at making young people feel comfortable."

Izzie nodded. "Of course…"

"Great." Addison smiled at her, relieved. "She's in my office. 5504 is open. I'll be there in about 10 minutes."

"I'll get everything ready, and we'll wait for you there." Izzie said, grabbing a chart to prepare for Cadence.

Addison smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

_Next: Izzie talks to Cadence, and Callie has a surprising idea for _ _Addison_


	4. Chapter 4

_This was actually supposed to be part of the last chapter, but I thought I was covering too much, so I split it up. :)_

_I need to stop writing fics about pregnant people... I do all of this Googling to research pregnancy, and I swear, one day I'm going to leave one of the sites up by accident and cause my fiance to have a heart attack..._

_On with the fic. :)_

_

* * *

_

Izzie led Cadence into the exam room and busied herself with setting up the ultrasound equipment while she waited for Cadence to change into the hospital gown she had provided her with.

"Oh, I'm styling now." Cadence said sarcastically.

"Aw, you look great." Izzie teased.

"Polka dots never did suit me…" Cadence looked down at her attire with disdain.

"They don't suit anyone… Not on hospital gowns, anyway." Izzie said, sitting down in the chair next to Cadence's bed.

"What would you do, if you were me?" Cadence suddenly asked. "Addie won't give me her opinion… But I really want someone's opinion or at least someone's thoughts. I don't feel like I can make this decision by myself."

Izzie hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Well, I'd prefer if we kept this between the two of us… But I was you, when I was sixteen."

Cadence tilted her head, not fully understanding Izzie's statement. "What do you mean?"

"I got pregnant when I was your age." Izzie admitted. "I wasn't exactly like you. I lived in a trailer park. My mother would have helped me raise the baby… She wouldn't have been much help, but she would have tried. But I wanted better, for both of us, than a life of struggle… And I wanted to be a doctor."

"Do you regret it?" Cadence asked.

"No… I feel that I did what was best. I know that she has wonderful parents who give her everything I wouldn't have been able to." Izzie said, then paused for a moment in thought. "Cadence, what do you want to do with your life?"

Cadence sighed. "I wanted to go to art school… Maybe become a photographer."

"You can still do that." Izzie said gently.

"But…" Cadence began, but was cut off when the older Montgomery entered the room.

"Hey." Addison greeted them. "Are we ready to do this?"

"Yes, Dr. Montgomery." Izzie stood up and waited for her instructions.

"Great… Let's start with the ultrasound then." Addison raised Cadence's shirt up over her bump and stepped back to let Izzie squeeze the gel onto her stomach.

"That. Is. COLD." Cadence complained. Izzie and Addison exchanged glances and chuckles.

"Yes, it is." Addison agreed.

"Do you want to know if it's a boy or a girl?" Izzie asked as she slid the probe around on Cadence's gelled stomach.

"Yeah." Cadence nodded.

Izzie squinted at the sonogram. She was trained to read them, of course, but she hadn't worked with Addison in a while and she was slightly out of practice. Addison looked at the sonogram herself, quickly determined the gender, and waited to see if Izzie could do the same.

"It's a… Girl?" Izzie said, more of a question to Addison than a statement to Cadence.

Addison nodded. "Good eye, Dr. Stevens. Everything looks good. I'd say you're about 23 weeks along, but when was your last period?"

"Um… I never know this when doctors ask." Cadence shrugged helplessly. "The condom broke on February 14th, though."

"Valentine's Day?" Izzie questioned.

"Yeah, Happy Valentine's Day to me, huh?" Cadence grumbled. "The gift that keeps giving..."

Addison did some quick arithmetic in her head. "Yeah, 23 sounds right then. Izzie, let's get some blood work."

Cadence made a face. "I hate needles."

Addison patted her arm and smiled while Izzie cleaned the gel off of her stomach. "You better get used to them. You'll be seeing a lot of them in the next few months."

"I can't believe that's inside of me…" Cadence murmured, looking back at the screen.

Izzie took her distraction as an opportunity to swab her arm, tie the elastic band around her arm, and slide a needle into her arm.

"Hey!" Cadence jumped slightly at the sensation. "That was mildly annoying… But not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. She's top notch, Ads."

Addison smiled at Izzie. "She is."

"I'll get the blood work to the lab." Izzie announced and headed toward the door. "Be back in a few."

"Thank you, Dr. Stevens." Addison said. "When she comes back, we'll have to do a pelvic."

Cadence groaned. "I hate that more than just about anything in the world."

"There isn't a woman who doesn't, Cady." Addison laughed. "I'll let Izzie do it, if that's okay with you"

"It's fine… I still don't know what to do…" Cadence stared at the image that was left up on the screen.

"There's something I should tell you." Addison said, taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the conversation. Cadence looked away from the ultrasound machine to Addison with questioning eyes.

"I… Had an abortion, about a year and a half ago." Addison admitted. The younger woman looked up at her in surprise.

"You did?" Cadence's voice was incredulous. "Did you… Did you know who the father was?"

"Yes…" Addison said, taking seat on the edge of Cadence's bed. "It was Mark. It had to be Mark. Derek and I hadn't slept together for over four months before I cheated on him."

"Do you regret it?" Cadence asked Addison the same question she had asked Izzie. She didn't really believe that she had any option that she wouldn't regret in some way, someday, but she had to find out all that she could from these women who had made the same choice she had to make.

"I didn't then… I was still married to another man, Mark wasn't ready to commit, and I couldn't even take care of myself, let alone be responsible for another human being." Addison inspected her fingernails to avoid Cadence's eyes.

"And now?" Cadence prodded gently.

Addison dabbed at the tears that she didn't realize were forming in her eyes until she was unable to see. "And now… We're together, and things are good, and I do regret it… I know things were different then than they are now, but I can't help but think that we could have been a family."

"Right…" Cadence whispered. "I can't do that… I can't kill her… I'll raise her or I'll let someone adopt her, but I won't kill her."

Addison nodded, but remained silent, thinking of her own abortion and how she had felt after.

"I don't know if I want to give her to someone I don't know though… I think I would hate that, not knowing where my baby is." Cadence frowned.

"You're not having an abortion, so you have time to think about it." Addison pointed out. She gently squeezed Cadence's hand and gave her a faint smile. "You'll figure out what to do. I'll support you, whatever it is."

"Thanks, Addie." Cadence smiled. "At least someone cares about me..."

Addison dropped a kiss on Cadence's forehead. "Come on, now. Mom and dad care about you, too... I'll be right back, okay?"

She had to get out of there for a few minutes. Once she was outside of Cadence's room, Addison laid her sister's chart down on the counter of the nurse's station and propped her chin up in her hands with a sigh. The conversation with her sister had sucked the energy out of her – she hated discussing her abortion, which is why Cadence was only the third person she had ever discussed it with. Callie looked up from her own work and examined her friend's facial expression.

"What's wrong? Little sis got you down?" Callie asked.

"I told her about my abortion." Addison mumbled, too quietly for anyone but Callie to hear.

"Seriously?" Callie asked. "What did she say?"

"She was surprised… I knew she would be." Addison said. "She decided that my story makes her not want one... But she's still sort of detached from the whole thing. She doesn't know what to do, but she doesn't really seem very emotional one way or the other."

"Well… It's good that you helped her a little bit, right?" Callie asked.

"I guess so…" Addison raked a hand through her red tendrils and sighed again.

"What is she going to do?" Callie asked.

"She's either going to keep the baby or give her up for adoption…" Addison rose from the counter and turned around, leaning with her back against it to face Callie.

"I've spent a lot of time with pregnant women." Addison said with a sigh. "A _lot._ I've known some sixteen year olds who were better prepared to handle a baby than some thirty year olds, believe it or not… But Cadence? She isn't one of those girls. She isn't ready to handle a baby… She isn't mature enough. I'm pretty good at pegging this stuff."

"So, you want her to give the baby up for adoption." Callie assumed.

"I don't _want_ to attach my opinion to anything… But yes, I think that's what would be best for her…" Addison sighed.

Callie wrapped her arm around Addison's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Quit that. You sigh too much…"

"She's nervous about giving the baby to a stranger, and since I don't know anyone looking to adopt, I can't help her with that." Addison said.

"What about you?" Callie asked.

Addison blinked at Callie several times, her brow furrowed in complete confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"Why don't you adopt her baby?"

* * *

_I always enjoy a good cliffhanger…_


	5. Chapter 5

_All right, since I was mean with a cliffie, I wrote quickly. :) It's not very long, but I think you will like it. ;)_

* * *

"Me?" Addison raised her eyebrows at Callie. "Adopt Cady's baby?"

Callie shrugged. "Why not? You want kids, right?"

"Yes…" Addison said slowly.

"It'd be a great arrangement… Cadence wouldn't have to give her baby to a stranger, she could still see her and know her… It's not like you don't have the money to take care of her. I think it could work out really well." Callie said.

"You really think that Mark would go for that?" Addison was dubious. "Considering I told him he would be a terrible father, and… You know, what I did to him?"

Callie shrugged. "There's only one way to find out…" She paused. "So, you're not exactly running away in terror at my idea. You've already thought about this, haven't you?"

"Maybe once or twice…" Addison admitted. Callie crossed her arms and stared her friend down. "Okay, maybe a lot…"

"Do you still think he'd be a terrible father?" Callie asked.

"No… He's different now. He couldn't commit then, but he has now. I'm not sure that he would naturally be a good father, but I think that he would definitely learn." Addison said.

"Your relationship has been good lately, right?" Callie asked.

"Great. Wonderful, actually… I'm sort of afraid to do anything that might hurt it." Addison said.

"Well, why don't you think about it some more, and if you decide it's what you want to do… Ask him." Callie suggested. "Wait until you talk to him before you mention it to Cadence. You don't want to get her hopes up just yet."

"Okay…" Addison nodded. "Okay, I will."

"Addison." Miranda's voice forced Addison to turn around. "I managed to get next Saturday night off. I'd like to spend it out with my husband. Do you think that Cadence could watch Tuck?"

"Cadence has _never _babysat before in her life." Addison warned.

"He is a very well-behaved baby." Miranda insisted. "She'll be fine. I think the experience would be good for her."

"Okay." Addison shrugged. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

A week and a half later, Addison dropped Cadence off at Miranda's house, where she hoped that things would go well with babysitting, but secretly feared they wouldn't. Addison walked into the bedroom she shared with Mark and kicked off her high heels. She hadn't talked to Mark yet about adopting the baby. It was all that she had thought about since her conversation with Callie, and she was positive that it was what she wanted to do. Addison just hoped that Mark would feel the same way.

"Mark?" Addison raised her voice so that she could be heard from his place in the living room. "Could you come here? I wanted to talk to you about something."

"I'll be in there in a minute." Mark called to her.

"Okay." Addison called back, mentally rehearsing what she planned to say to Mark about the idea.

A few moments later, Addison's cell phone began to ring. The ring tone wasn't like any that she had assigned to her phone, but the tune was familiar to her.

It took her a moment to realize that it was playing "Here Comes the Bride."

"What the…" Addison stared at her phone in confusion and snatched it up from the dresser, where she had set it when she walked in.

Her blue eyes stared hard at the phone. A picture of a diamond ring was displayed on the screen. Instead of someone's name being listed as the caller, the text read, "Marry me?" Addison gasped as she put all of the pieces together and spun around to see Mark on the floor behind her, on both knees, holding up the ring between his fingertips. He looked nervous – more nervous than she had ever seen him look.

"Oh my God." Addison whispered. She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Her words became a mantra as she said them over and over again. "Oh my God… Oh my God…"

"Addison…" Mark took a deep breath. She could see that he was shaking slightly. It was surreal to her, seeing this usually confident at best (cocky bastard at worst) man so anxious. "I don't know how I ever lived my life without you. Everything has been so amazed. I know this may be kind of sudden… But I love you more than anything and I would do anything for you. I can't wait another moment to ask you to be my wife… Will you marry me?"

Addison didn't know when she started crying, but she choked out a "Yes" between her sobs. She threw herself into Mark's arms and they rocked each other back and forth on the floor.

"I love you." Addison said, pulling back to look at him. She wiped some tears away from his face with her thumbs.

Mark returned the favor, brushing her tears away with the back of his hand. "I love you too, baby." He slid the ring onto her finger (it fit perfectly – she didn't know it, but he'd "borrowed" one of her rings and had the jeweler check the size) and smiled as she admired it. "Did I do well?"

"It's perfect." Addison pressed her lips to his.

Mark ran his hands down her sides. "We do have the place to ourselves, you know…" He gave her a devious smirk.

"Yes… Yes, we do." Addison mused.

"And we do have a king sized bed right over there…" Mark jerked his thumb in the direction of the bed.

Addison shook her head. "You're bad."

Mark grinned and stood up, sweeping Addison up into his arms and carrying her over to the bed. "I am. But you love me for it."

* * *

After, the two rested in each other's arms, enjoying a comfortable embrace. It was the first time that they'd had sex with each other since Cadence's arrival (a long time for them; they'd been intimate almost every day since the 60 days had ended). Mark had wanted to, of course, but Addison had been nervous about doing it with Cadence in such close proximity. Mark pointed out that Cadence _clearly_ knew about sex, but that answer hadn't satisfied Addison.

"That was… Incredible." Addison said, letting out a happy sigh.

"It really was." Mark agreed.

"How did you get my cell phone?" Addison suddenly asked.

"I did it this morning while you were in the shower… I programmed it so that it would do that when my phone called you… And then I had to remind myself not to call you all day." Mark explained, caressing her back. "I almost messed it up like 3 times."

Her phone rang from its position on their nightstand, and she sighed at having to disentangle herself from Mark's embrace to answer it. "Hello?"

"He hasn't stopped crying since Miranda left!" Cadence wailed without bothering to greet Addison. "He's just sitting there and bawling and bawling at me and I don't know what to do! I don't know what he wants! I can't do this!"

"First of all, you have to _calm down_, Cadence!" Addison said, sitting up in bed. She looked back at Mark and shook her head. "He's a baby, but he's over a year old… He's not stupid. He can tell that you're panicking, and that's only going to make him more upset."

"Okay." Addison could hear Cadence taking deep breaths on the other end of the line. "Okay."

"Does he have a fever?" Addison asked.

"No…" There was a pause as Cadence double-checked. "No."

"Then he's probably not sick or anything. He just misses his parents. See if he'll let you hold him, then read him a book or give him a bottle." Addison advised.

"What if he won't let me hold him?" Cadence asked, her voice still shaky.

"Then move on to the book or the bottle… Or sing to him." Addison suggested.

"Okay…" Cadence took another breath.

"Call me back if he doesn't calm down, or if something goes wrong, okay?" Addison said. "You can handle this."

"All right… I hope you're right… Bye." Cadence hung up the phone.

Addison sighed and laid her cell phone back on the nightstand.

"Having trouble?" Mark asked.

"Yeah… She is." Addison lay back down beside him, resting her head comfortably against his chest.

"Hey, didn't you want to ask me something before I proposed?" Mark asked, kissing her forehead gently.

Addison's heart sank a little. She'd almost forgotten that she needed to talk to him. The last thing she wanted to do was possibly destroy the perfect moment – the perfect evening.

"Oh… I forget what it was… Maybe I'll remember later." Addison lied and snuggled into deeper into his arms. She had months – it would wait until another time.

* * *

_I have to ruin this now by 'fessing up that the way Mark proposed was actually not my idea… Credit for that goes to my fiancé, who proposed to me that way. :) But, I loved how he did it and thought it worked well with the story, so there you go. :)_

_Um, yeah, and if you read my other stuff... I haven't forgotten my two unfinished fics, I'm just stuck on them, whereas I know exactly where this one is going... Makes for less stressful writing at the end of the semester. :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_My semester is almost finished! Can I get a "hell yeah":)_

_Not my favorite chapter... It's kind of fluffy, but shows how the Addison/Cadence/Mark relationship works... And you will see that it is necessary for plot movement._

* * *

Four weeks had passed since the engagement, and Addison still hadn't mentioned adopting the baby to Mark. Not that she hadn't tried – she just kept chickening out every time. Addison returned home carrying a white box with her one day and greeted Cadence as she entered the kitchen with it. 

"What's with the box?" Cadence asked, perched at the breakfast bar with a copy of _Pride and Prejudice _in her hand, occasionally chatting with Mark as he chopped vegetables for the evening's meal.

"Well, someone is seventeen today." Addison said with a smile, setting down the box which Cadence presumed held a cake.

"You remembered." Cadence smiled slightly, setting the book down.

"Of course I did." Addison laughed. "You're my only sister, after all."

"Mom and dad didn't…" Cadence mumbled, staring down at her hands. "Or they just don't care… They haven't even called me."

Addison frowned and wrapped her arm around Cadence's shoulders. She placed a soft kiss on the top of Cadence's head. "They'll come around… Really, they will."

"I don't even want them to." Cadence grumbled.

Mark cleared his throat. "Why don't I go get Cadence's presents?" Addison nodded at him and he slipped out of the kitchen.

"You didn't have to do that, Addie…" Cadence whispered.

Addison shrugged and removed the chocolate cake, covered in purple icing roses, from its box. "I wanted to."

"But I've been such a pain in your ass." Cadence sighed. "I haven't been much fun and I'm sorry about that."

Addison smiled slightly and walked back over to her sister. She picked up three small stands of her Cadence's hair and absently began to braid them. "You're a teenager. You're pregnant. You're hormonal. It's understandable."

"I miss my friends…" Cadence sighed. "I miss Karma, Tarin, and Kirsten… I even miss Anthony."

Addison finished working on the first tiny braid and started braiding another set of strands. "Understandable."

"When will it stop hurting?" Cadence asked suddenly, and looked up at Addison.

"You mean Anthony?" Addison asked. Cadence nodded. "He's the father of your child… It may never completely stop hurting, but it will get easier."

Cadence decided to change the subject. She grabbed Addison's left hand away from her braiding and smiled at the engagement ring on it. "I love your ring… It's beautiful. Let me design your wedding dress?"

"I'd be honored." Addison smiled.

"All right, stop getting all mushy on me now, and stop giving me cornrows already!" Cadence laughed, batting Addison's hands away from her hair.

Mark re-appeared in the kitchen, juggling two medium sized boxes in one hand and carrying an easel with a bow on it under his arm. "Surprise!"

Cadence's jaw dropped, then her lips turned up into a wide grin. "You guys!" She rushed over to the easel and examined it. "You're the best."

"But wait, there's more!" Mark extended the boxes to Cadence in true game show fashion.

Cadence eagerly opened the first package to find an array of art supplies – paints, colored pencils, and more. She beamed with delight.

"No oil paints while you're pregnant." Addison ordered. "But the watercolors are fine, and so are the pencils, of course."

"Mom and dad have never supported my art habit…" Cadence told them. "They don't want to encourage anything… But this is great. You guys really are the best!"

Addison pointed to the neglected box. "You haven't opened the biggest present yet!"

Tears filled Cadence's eyes as she unwrapped the Canon Rebel digital camera, which featured an impressive 10 mega pixels. "Oh my God… You didn't have to do this. This must have cost a fortune."

"For a camera, it did." Mark confessed. Addison shot him a glare. "What, you point and shoot with it! I don't get what the big deal is."

"Thank you both so much!" Cadence threw her arms around Addison and Mark, pulling them into a group hug.

"All right, all right, you're welcome." Mark said, breaking away. "You girls can continue the love fest, but I'm putting the candles on the cake."

Cadence continued to examine the box. "How did you know what to buy?"

"I didn't." Addison admitted. "I was completely at the mercy of the Best Buy guy, so I hope that it's a good one.

"It is!" Cadence reassured her. "It's the best present ever."

Mark set up 17 candles on the cake (with an extra one to grow on) in record time, and soon the room was glowing with the light of the flickering flames.

"Don't forget to make a wish." Addison reminded her.

Cadence nodded, paused for a moment, then blew out all of the candles with one strong puff of air.

"What did you wish for?" Mark asked.

"If I tell you… It may not come true." Cadence said with a sad smile.

* * *

"Hey." Mark greeted Cadence in the guest bedroom the next day when he came home from work. He'd found her at her easel, painting a picture in shades of pink and purple. 

"Who's that?" He asked, squinting at the painting. He could tell that it was supposed to be a person, but her facial features didn't seem to be in the right places.

"It's… Andrea." Cadence said, reluctantly.

"Andrea?" Mark was confused at first, then noticed the sad look that Cadence was giving him. "Oh. But why is her eye way over here?" Mark said, pointing on the painting. "Do you actually think that her eye is way over there? Because we can get the sonogram and I'll show you where her eye really is…"

"It's abstract." Cadence explained with a roll of her eyes, swirling her brush in some bright pink watercolor paint.

"I got a C in art." Mark admitted, still studying the painting. "Only C I ever got in my life."

"You just see everything in terms of perfection, because you're a surgeon… A plastic surgeon, at that. You live to make things beautiful and perfect." Cadence stepped back and stared at her work. "This is art, and there doesn't have to be perfection in that. It can be beautiful without being perfect."

"If you say so…" Mark shrugged. He would never understand art. "You seem to have this idea that you have to be perfect."

Cadence sighed. "Addison and Brad are… In mom and dad's fantasy world, anyway. You're lucky, Mark. Maybe _you_ can't be perfect, but you can make people's noses, boobs, whatever perfect." Cadence said, setting down her paintbrush. Mark could see the sadness in her eyes. "But I haven't found an outlet where I can make things perfect yet."

"You tell anyone this and you're dead, but I've made my mistakes in surgery too…" Mark admitted. "Crooked noses, lopsided tits… Of course, not recently." His arrogant tone returned. "But, it's happened."

"Yeah right." Cadence snorted.

"We're a lot alike, you know, Cady…" Mark informed her. In spite of himself, he had grown fond of the young woman. "My parents sucked too, and I was bitter like you. But you can't let them ruin you or kill your spirit, or you'll end up a jackass like me."

"I just wish they would be proud of me." Cadence chewed on her lip. "Just once."

"I'm sure they are…" Mark said soothingly.

"Ah, well." Cadence sighed and rinsed her paintbrush in her water cup. "When is Addie coming home?"

Mark glanced at his watch. "About an hour or so. I'll start dinner."

He had only been gone from her room for about ten minutes when he heard a thud, followed by a shriek of pain that came out in the sound of his name.

"Cadence? What's happened?" Mark asked, alarmed, though the sinking feeling in his stomach told him that he didn't really didn't have to ask. He dashed into the guest room and found Cadence, doubled over in a ball on the floor. He rushed to her side and knelt on the floor beside her.

"It hurts…" Cadence looked up at him, clutching her abdomen as tears of pain filled her frightened eyes. "Something's wrong…"

* * *

_Reviews make me write faster, and I already have part of the next chapter written. ;)_


	7. Chapter 7

_Since Shonda decided to break our hearts last night, and my editing portfolio is almost finished, expect a lot of updates in the next few days. :)_

_

* * *

_

Minutes after Cadence collapsed, thanks to his ridiculous speeding through the city, Mark burst through the door to the ER of Seattle Grace Hospital, cradling her against his strong chest and whispering soothing words into her ear. He caught Miranda's eye and she rushed over to him, Alex and Izzie on her heels.

"What happened?" Miranda asked, the concern evident in her voice.

"She's gone into preterm labor." Mark said frowning, as he rushed Cadence toward an empty exam room.

"Why are you carrying her?" Miranda asked, confused, jogging to keep up with the pace of his longer legs.

"She's in too much pain to walk…" Mark said grimly.

"I want Addie…" Cadence cried into his chest. Miranda reached out and took her hand, giving it a slight reassuring squeeze.

"Get me magnesium sulfate, a fetal monitor, and page Addison Montgomery, now." Mark ordered the nearest person he saw, who happened to be a nursing student.

The young woman froze in terror at his orders. Mark became frustrated and exploded at her. "Did I stutter? I said _now_! Stat! GO!" The nurse scurried away.

"Damn it, I know I'm a plastic surgeon, but I still went to medical school!" Mark ranted as he carefully laid Cadence down on the gurney. "I may specialize in tits and ass, but I still know what needs to be done for preterm labor!"

"Dr. Sloan…" Miranda began, placing her hand on Mark's shoulder. "You need to calm down." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "You're going to scare Cadence even more. How far along is she?"

"Twenty-eight weeks. I don't trust that nurse kid…" Mark muttered. "I'm going to look for Addison myself."

"No!" Cadence shrieked, grabbing at Mark's sleeve. "Please don't leave me!"

"Okay… Okay… Shhh…" Mark murmured, and wrapped his arms around Cadence. "It's going to be okay, honey… Addie's going to be here soon and you're going to be okay…"

"I'll go look for Dr. Montgomery." Izzie volunteered. Mark shot her a grateful look and she dashed down the hall.

* * *

"Dr. Montgomery!" Izzie called from down the hall, running toward Addison, who was standing at the nurse's station. She paused in front of the older woman and bent over and rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Izzie?" Addison turned to her, worried. "What's wrong?"

"It's Cadence." Izzie said breathlessly. "Dr. Sloan just brought her in… She's gone into labor."

Addison swore under her breath. "Why wasn't I paged?"

"You were. Well, you were supposed to be." Izzie explained. "It was a nursing student, and…"

"Fine, never mind that." Addison said, taking off in the direction of the elevator. For a woman in high heels, she took incredibly quick strides to get down the hall. "Where is she?"

"In the E.R." Izzie said. "Is she going to be okay?"

Addison punched the down arrow on the elevator with her index finger. "I'm going to make damn sure of it."

* * *

"What happened?" Addison asked as she entered the room and snatched Cadence's chart. Her question was directed at Mark.

"I found her on the floor…" Mark said.

"There was just pain all of the sudden." Cadence said, gripping Mark's hand tightly while Addison did a quick survey of her condition. "And I started having contractions."

"Her BP's up…" Addison noted, sounding like she was talking about any patient, not her sister. A loud beeping noise quickly drew her attention to the fetal monitor.

"Damn it! The baby is in distress… She's getting worse. We don't have time to try to halt this. She needs to come out, now." Addison announced, shoving the chart into Izzie's hands. "Let's get her to the O.R."

"Wait! Addie!" Cadence said, pulling at her sister's hand and tugged her to her side. "If I die…"

"Shut up, Cady." Addison said firmly. "You're not going to die. Do you know how many of these I do in a week? You're not dying on _my_ table."

"But if I do, you have to make sure that Andrea goes to good parents." Cadence pleaded, her eyes filled with tears. "Please!"

"Okay." Addison said quietly. She needed her sister to calm down, so it was better to comply with her wishes than it was to argue with her. "Okay."

"And I love you." Cadence blurted out, allowing the tears to roll down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Cady…" Addison wiped the tears off of her sister's face and kissed her cheek. "Everyone is going to be fine." She looked up at her team. "Let's move it. I want you in there, Izzie."

"Mark, will you come too?" Cadence asked as they rolled her into the hallway.

"Of course, kiddo." Mark said, squeezing her hand.

"What do you think you're doing, Addie?" Derek demanded, blocking the hallway so that Addison and her team couldn't pass.

"I'm taking this patient to the O.R." Addison said simply.

"Your sister?" Derek shook his head. "I don't think so."

"I swear to God, Derek, I will roll this gurney right over you." Addison said, her eyes flashing with fury.

"She's your sister." Derek pointed out needlessly. "You have no business operating on family."

"I'm the best!" Addison exclaimed. "If this was one of your sisters… If this was Kathleen, you'd want the best, wouldn't you?"

Derek paused. She had him there. "Yes, but…"

"But _what?_" Addison practically shouted. "There is no but here! She's scared! The baby is in distress! She needs the best, and she's getting the best, and that just so happens to be _me_!"

Derek sighed, realizing that what he was about to allow her to do was ethically questionable. "Fine. You can do the operation. But I'm going with you. I'm scrubbing in."

"The hell you are." Addison snorted and turned away from him, preparing to roll the gurney again. "It's my O.R. and I don't need a babysitter."

"Dr. Montgomery." Derek said sternly. It felt odd on his tongue, calling the woman he was married to for eleven years by her title rather than her name. But, he meant business. And it worked. Addison gave him her full attention.

"_WHAT?!_" Addison shouted.

Derek sighed again. If she was going to play the "my O.R." card, he was going to have to play a higher card.

"I am your Chief of Surgery, and I am scrubbing in. I don't want you to do this in the first place, but I also know that fighting you is pointless. So I'm scrubbing in." Derek stated.

"Fine!" Addison threw up her hands. "Whatever. Let's get in there. We're wasting precious time here."

Derek nodded and placed his hands on the gurney, helping Addison and her team wheel Cadence down the hall. He was not concerned about Addison's ability to perform under the pressure in the operating room. Nothing could break her impeccable concentration – especially not when she was working on her own sister – but he was concerned about what could come after the surgery. What kind of guilt would she have to live with if she lost one or both of them?

* * *

_I've already started on the next chapter (actually, bits and pieces of the next 2 chapters), so no worries about my cliffhanger. ;) I will resolve it quickly._


	8. Chapter 8

_Weee, I'm on a roll today! Yay for lots of writing! I think I'm just so excited not to have any obligations to write for work or class right now that I'm just giddy about writing creatively. :)_

* * *

Fortunately, the surgery went well. Andrea gave Addison and her team a scare by not breathing when she was pulled from the womb. Addison was able to resuscitate her, and she was stable in the NICU, where Addison stayed close to her while Cadence slept. 

"Hey." Izzie poked her head into the NICU. "How's she doing?"

"She's stable…" Addison sighed. "No improvement yet."

"Cadence is awake and she wants to talk to you." Izzie said.

"Okay… I'll go see her." Addison stood up, still looking at the incubator.

Izzie looked from Addison to the incubator. "I could… Stay with her while you're gone. If you want."

"Thanks." Addison smiled gratefully. "I would appreciate that."

* * *

"Is Andrea okay?" Cadence asked anxiously as soon as Addison entered her room. 

"Well…" Addison sighed. "She has respiratory distress syndrome and a patent ductus arteriosus."

"In English, Addie." Cadence said, sounding slightly annoyed.

Addison tried to think of the simplest way to explain it. "Her lungs don't have this chemical that they need, so they have trouble inflating and it's hard for her to breathe. We're giving her oxygen and we're putting the chemical into her through a tube in her lungs. A patent ductus arteriosus, or a PDA as we call it, means that part of her heart didn't close like the way that it was supposed to. We're going to use medication to try to close it, but if it doesn't work, she'll need surgery."

"How long will she be in the hospital?" Cadence asked.

"About 3 months…" Addison said slowly. "She'll be in here until around the time of her original due date."

Cadence looked up at Addison with tears in her eyes. "Was it something that I did wrong that made her come too early and so sick?"

"No, honey." Addison shook her head. "These things just happen sometimes… And we don't really know why."

"You know… For a while, I thought about keeping her." Cadence sighed. "But now she's tiny and sick, and I don't think I can take care of her."

Addison sat on the corner of Cadence's bed and took her hand between both of hers. "If you give her to people who will love her, you know… That doesn't make you a failure. It makes you a good mother, for wanting the best life possible for her… For both of you."

Cadence looked away. "I know."

"Do you… Do you want to see her?" Addison asked.

"No." Cadence shook her head firmly. "I don't want to meet her yet. I don't want to meet her until I know what I want to do… If I see her, I may never want to give her away."

Addison nodded solemnly. "Okay. I understand. If you change your mind…"

"I won't." Cadence said, looking away.

"Okay." Addison stood up. "I'm going to go stay with her, but I'll be back later."

* * *

Addison returned to Andrea's side immediately after she left Cadence's room. Not surprisingly, Andrea was in the same state she had left her in. Addison took a seat beside Andrea's incubator and stared at her, deep in thought. Could she raise this child? She certainly wanted to. She'd fallen in love with Andrea already. But would Mark want to raise her, too? 

A hand on Addison's shoulder startled Addison. She turned her head to see Mark standing behind her. "Hey."

"Hey you." Mark said, dropping a kiss on her head. "I figured I'd find you here… How is she?"

"About the same…" Addison sighed.

"Poor thing…" Mark mumbled, looking at the baby. "What a rough start to life."

"I know…" Addison frowned.

"What is Cadence going to do?" Mark asked.

Addison paused for a moment. She knew it was time, the moment of truth. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that…"

"Oh?" Mark raised an eyebrow. Addison took a deep breath and summoned all of her courage.

"What if we adopted her, Mark?" Addison said, more to the preemie than her fiancé as her heart pounded against her ribcage.

Mark was silent for what seemed like hours to Addison while he processed her words. "Us? You're kidding."

"No… I'm not." Addison chewed her lip. "Think about it. She'll be in the hospital for months. We're always here. We could take care of her… And we have plenty of money, so that's not a problem."

Mark opened and closed his mouth several times in shock before speaking. "You're really springing this idea on me, Addie, and it's not fair. I don't even know how to react."

"I know… I'm sorry." Addison stared at her hands.

"I mean, I would have to think about this … _You_ would need to think about this."

The guilty look on Addison's face informed Mark that she _had _been thinking about it.

"How long _have_ you been thinking about this?" Mark demanded, feeling the anger build inside of him.

Addison mumbled her answer.

"Over a month?" Mark growled. "You've been thinking about this for over a month and you're just now telling me?!"

"I didn't want to ruin our engagement!" Addison exclaimed tearfully. "I thought we had plenty of time to talk about it and to plan! I didn't know that she would be premature! We were supposed to have 3 more months!"

Mark gave Addison a look that made her feel sick to her stomach. "You should have told me, Addison. You shouldn't have kept something like this from me!"

"We were finally happy!" Addison threw up her hands. "I wanted us to stay happy. I was afraid you would react like this.'

"The truth was going to come out eventually! And how did you expect me to react?" Mark asked.

"I don't know..." Addison said quietly.

Mark raked a hand through his hair. "Why can't Cadence take care of Andrea herself? Doesn't she have a trust fund that's worth big money?"

"She does." Addison confirmed. "And it's worth millions of dollars. And she can't touch the first penny of it until she's 25. But it's not even about money. She's not emotionally ready to take care of a child and she knows that, but she doesn't want to give her to strangers."

"There are plenty of good people out there who want kids." Mark said. "She can find someone else to give her to."

"I want Andrea to stay in our family!" Addison cried. "I want her to know her real mother! I don't want her to grow up not knowing where she really came from!"

"She has RDS and a PDA, Addison! She could d—" Mark stopped abruptly, remembering that he was talking about his fiancée's niece. Addison shot him a glare and he sighed.

"Seriously Addie… Think about that. What if we get attached and something happens to her?" Mark asked.

"Then… That would be absolutely horrible. But not as horrible as never loving her at all." Addison said, gently stroking Andrea's arm with her pinky.

She touched all of her premature patients with the same tender caress, but Mark could see there was something different with Andrea. There was something different about how Addison was looking at her and how much time she was spending with her.

"You're already attached." Mark realized.

"I am not…" Addison mumbled, withdrawing her hand from the incubator guiltily.

"Yes, you are. But think of what you're asking of me, Addison." Mark said angrily. "You're asking me to give the rest of my life to a child that isn't even mine, or yours."

"I know it's a lot to ask, but…" Addison began.

"And after you _aborted_ our child because you thought I'd be a bad father." Mark interrupted.

"We were both different people then, Mark. We were facing a very complicated time in our lives." Addison sighed. "And I regret the abortion… Really, I do."

Mark turned away from her. "That's the first time you've ever told me that you regret it."

"I do, because we could have been a family." Addison looked back at the incubator. "And now we have another chance at that… I know we can't replace one baby with another, but…"

"You're right. We can't." Mark said gruffly, walking towards the door of the NICU.

"Mark…" Addison pleaded.

"Just… Don't talk to me right now, Addison." Mark shoved his way out of the NICU.

Addison closed her eyes to keep the tears from spilling out and turned back to the incubator. Though she was upset with Mark's reaction, she wasn't sure that she could blame him for it, after what she had done to him. She reached inside it again and touched the baby's soft cheek.

"I'm sorry, Andrea…" Addison whispered.

* * *

After spending a few more hours with Andrea in the NICU, Addison was definitely hooked on the baby. But, she had to admit to herself that she could no longer fight her exhaustion, so she finally went home. She wasn't surprised when she didn't find Mark there. 

Addison finally cried herself into a restless sleep, but woke up several times during the night, each time rolling over to face the empty side of the bed. She wasn't used to sleeping without him. Since they had moved in together, they had only spent a few nights apart -- only when one of them was called out to emergency surgery in the middle of the night.

Addison couldn't stop thinking about where he was (and who he might be with). She kept hoping that he would come home that night.

But he never did.

* * *

_Like I always say... Reviews make me write faster (so you can find out where in the hell Mark is sooner)... :)_

_Time to get drunk now, woohoo. Happy weekend, all. :)_

_I'll write more when I'm sober if you guys are good! _


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning when Addison woke up, she felt a pang in her stomach, remembering her conversation (argument, really) with Mark. She was exhausted, having gotten no sleep, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She dragged herself into work anyway, and went immediately to the 5th floor to see Andrea. On her way there, she noticed Izzie at the nurse's station.

"Have you seen Mark?" Addison tried to ask the blonde intern nonchalantly, but she was sure that the question sounded anything but casual.

"Umm…" Izzie looked nervously from side to side. "Yeah… But I wasn't supposed to tell you…"

Addison felt her heart pound against her ribcage. It reminded her too much of when they were back in New York, when Mark had started cheating on her. Her co-workers had avoided her, and if she had directly asked them about his whereabouts, they got nervous… The way that Izzie was in front of her.

"Oh…" Addison swallowed hard to fight the lump in her throat and stared at her feet. "Oh, I see."

"He's in the NICU." Izzie mumbled.

"The NICU." Addison repeated, raising her eyes to look at Izzie.

"Yeah, he was in there with Andrea last night… I caught him talking to her about the Yankees and he threatened me within an inch of my life if I told anyone." Izzie explained.

"With Andrea." Addison hated herself for sounding like a parrot, repeating everything the intern said, but she was too shocked to say anything else.

Izzie nodded. "When I went back in there about ten minutes ago, and he was passed out in the chair by her incubator. I don't think he left her side all night."

"Oh." Addison said, dumbfounded and feeling guilty for assuming that he was cheating on her. "Well, I guess I'll go wake him… His shift starts soon. Thanks, Izzie."

* * *

Sure enough, when Addison reached the NICU, she found Mark asleep in a contorted position in a chair that looked rather uncomfortable. Though she was still upset about the way that things ended between them the previous night, she had to smile. She approached him and gave him a small shake to wake him. 

"Hey." Mark responded sleepily, stretching his neck out as he roused.

"How's she doing?" Addison asked, picking up her niece's chart.

"She's improving, actually…" Mark yawned. "She's a fighter… She's a Montgomery girl, so she must be feisty."

Addison smiled slightly, but didn't look up from the chart.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come home last night…" Mark said softly. "Andi here and I were… Talking."

Addison chewed at her lip, not sure of how to read him. "I see…" She put the chart back in its place.

"She's been telling me that she likes the Red Sox…" Mark shook his head at the incubator and the tiny sleeping preemie. "Can you believe that?" Mark met Addison's eyes, then looked back down at Andrea. "We'll have to fix that. No daughter of mine is going to like the _Red Sox_."

"What?" Addison blinked several times.

Mark gave her his trademark grin and pulled her into his arms. "You heard me."

Addison couldn't hide the smile that stretched across her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a deep kiss against his lips.

"You're sure that you want to do this?" Addison asked, resting her head against the chest and looking at Andrea.

"She's beautiful and amazing and I want to be her dad." Mark said confidently.

"You know that this is completely going to change our lives." Addison cautioned.

"I know, and I do. I'm excited, but I'm a little nervous about it. I don't really know anything about babies…" Mark looked down at the incubator.

"Lucky for us, I know a tiny bit." Addison winked and gave him a squeeze.

"We'll figure all of it out together." Mark promised.

"We will?" Addison looked into his eyes and saw that he was serious about it.

"Definitely. The late feedings, the diapers, the ballet classes, the boys…" Mark paused. "Who will not be coming in contact with her until she's 45…"

"Thank you." Addison could feel the tears stinging her already swollen eyes.

"No crying." Mark ordered, holding her tightly against. "And no thanking me, either. I want this too."

"You do?" Addison bit her lip.

"I do. We're going to make a life together." Mark kissed her eyelids. "We're going to be a family. I love you, baby."

Addison smiled up at him, happy tears streaming down her face. "I love you too."

"Maybe we should go mention this whole thing to your sister though, before we get too excited?" Mark suggested.

Addison nodded and withdrew from his embrace, instead taking his hand. "Let's do it now."

* * *

"Addison!" Cadence looked up from her book and greeted her sister. "Great to see you. When in the hell are you going to let me out of this bed?" 

Addison rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too, Cady."

"The painkillers are great, but this catheter is humiliating." Cadence informed her.

"We should be able to get rid of that now." Addison said. "I'll have a nurse do it for you and we'll see if we can get you up and walking around."

"Fabulous." Cadence set the book on her side table. "I've decided what to do."

"You have?" Addison could feel herself getting nervous. Mark snaked an arm around her waist and gave her a supportive squeeze.

Cadence sighed. "Yeah. I want to finish high school. I want to go to college. Is that selfish?"

"No." Mark assured her. "Not at all."

"In order to do that… I can't keep her." Cadence said sadly. "And I want Andrea to be with good people who will take care of her the way I can't… She deserves better than a stupid teenager."

Addison sat down on the side of Cadence's bed. "You're not stupid. You're very mature for making this decision. I know it's a hard one to make."

Cadence shook her head. "It wasn't really as hard as I thought it'd be… It's what I knew was right all along."

Addison covered Cadence's hand with her own. "If you're doing what you know is right, don't worry about anything else."

"I need your help, Addie." Cadence said. "I need your help finding parents for her."

Mark cleared his throat. "Actually… We wanted to talk to you about that."

"You did?" Cadence's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Yes." Mark looked at Addison, prompting her to be the one to speak.

"We would like to adopt Andrea." Addison said softly.

At the admission, Cadence immediately burst into tears.

Addison and Mark exchanged shocked glances at her outburst, unsure of how to react. Cadence noticed the worried looking on their faces, and quickly began talking to reassure them.

"No, no…" Cadence desperately wiped the tears from her face. "You don't understand. That was my wish."

"What wish?" Mark asked, confused.

"The cake, the candles, all of that." Cadence said. "On my birthday… That's what I wished for.

"For us to take Andrea?" Mark raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Cadence sighed, and accepted the tissue that her sister handed her. "You guys were being so good to me… I thought you would be good to her, too."

"We will." Addison assured her. "I'll call my lawyer and we'll see what we need to do… If you're sure."

Cadenced nodded. "I'm positive. I want to see her now. I want to be the one to tell her."

Addison nodded. "Okay. Do you want us to come with you?"

"No… I need to do it alone." Cadence decided.

"Okay." Addison stood up. "She's hooked up to a lot of tubes and wires, Cady… And she's very, very tiny. She may look scary, but you have to remember that under all of that… She's still a baby. She's your baby."

"No… She's _our_ baby." Cadence smiled a little.

* * *

Izzie helped Cadence to the NICU in a wheelchair (at Addison's insistence). At first, Cadence was scared of all of the machines surrounding her daughter. But, she tried to take Addison's advice, and focused on the baby beneath all of the equipment. She soon felt comfortable enough to talk to the baby and to touch her. 

"Hi, Andrea…" Cadence pressed her index finger into the preemie's palm, and smiled a little as the tiny fingers curled around it slightly. "I'm your mother…"

Cadence's breath hitched in sudden realization that Andrea was her child. She couldn't believe that she had a baby.

"But you're going to live with a different mommy… And you're going to have a daddy too. You wouldn't have a daddy if you came with me." Cadence sighed. "You see, Andrea, I'm not ready to take care of you… Not by myself."

Tears formed in Cadence's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't be the one to take care of you… But I found you really great parents, my sister and her fiancé. You've met them. If you go with them, I'll get to see you sometimes. They already love you and they're going to take such good care of you. You're going to be really spoiled, Andrea. You'll be wearing designer clothes before you know how to walk…"

Cadence laughed slightly through her tears at the image of her sister dressing Andrea in baby Prada. If it existed, Addison would find it.

"I hope that someday, you'll realize why I had to do it… Your new mommy and daddy not perfect. Really, they're pretty far from it. But that means they won't expect you to be. Not like my parents expect me to be." Cadence closed her eyes and let her tears roll down her face.

"Please don't hate me, Andrea…" Cadence stroked Andrea's arm lightly with one finger. "Because I love you very much… And that's why I'm giving you to the best parents I know."

Cadence sat there for several minutes, just watching Andrea breathe. She knew she was making the right decision, but it still hurt. She sobbed as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb the other babies in the unit.

"Cady."

A voice broke Cadence's concentration on her daughter. Cadence tensed at the sound of the familiar feminine voice and turned her head to see an apologetic-looking Addison flanked by Nadine and Edmund. Cadence sighed and wiped her eyes.

"Hi mom… Hi dad."

* * *

_Seeeeeee, and you guys thought I made Mark do something bad. ;) He was really being a sweetie all along!_


	10. Chapter 10

Nadine Montgomery stood scowling at her youngest child, her arms folded across her chest. She was pushing sixty, but she had aged well (mostly thanks to plastic surgery). Her hair was in a blunt cut; dyed to match Addison and Cadence's red locks, since her own had long been streaked with grey. Her husband looked tired, older than Addison remembered, but looked happier to see Cadence than Nadine did. He had gifted Addison with her height, and had good looks that could only be described as debonair. Addison looked nervously between her parents and her sister.

"I'm sorry, Cadence…" Addison said softly. "But… I was required by law to tell them tha—"

"It's okay, Ad." Cadence interrupted. "I know you were. I had to face them sometime."

"Are you all right, Cadence?" Nadine asked, slowly approaching her daughter.

Cadence laughed bitterly. "Like you care?"

"Cady…" Edmund warned.

"Oh, I'm fine." Cadence gave her parents a very large, very fake grin. "I was basically gutted yesterday… And my daughter, Andrea? She's little and she's very sick."

Nadine bit her lip and approached the incubator. She stared down at Andrea, then looked back to Addison. "Addie… She's so tiny… Is she going to be all right?"

Addison crossed her arms, still angry with her mother for the hell she'd put Cadence through. "You know I'm doing everything I can."

"She is." Cadence agreed. "In fact, she and Mark have decided to adopt Andrea."

"So you're bailing her out." Nadine shook her head at Addison.

"Bailing her out. That's what you think I'm doing." Addison kept her voice low for the babies' sakes. "I'm making it so that my niece, your only granddaughter, doesn't have to leave our family."

"But do you actually want this baby, Addison?" Edmund asked in a calm, gentle voice. He always more openly loved his children than Nadine, though he worked long hours. "Do you want her, or are you doing this out of some sort of obligation to Cadence?"

"I wouldn't adopt a baby from anyone if I didn't want her." Addison said firmly.

"Okay…" Edmund nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"You're still covering for her." Nadine said coldly. "You're still trying to fix her mistakes… And she doesn't deserve that kind of help."

"You're unbelievable! If you're going to hold Cady to some ridiculous standard, it had better be allowed the same imperfections and screw ups that Brad and I have made, and believe me, we've made plenty." Addison said with a bitter laugh.

"You and Bradford have not made any mistakes of this caliber, Addison." Nadine argued.

"Oh really?" Addison snorted. "Where should I start? With my affair? No, let's start with something you don't know about… How about five years ago, when I had to drive 4 hours to Cambridge to bail Brad out of jail? Or, would you rather know something deep and shameful about me?"

Addison crossed her arms. She had a flash of regret for revealing her brother's secret, but he felt about their parents the same way that Addison did. She hoped he would understand if it ever came back on him.

"Addison…" Cadence had been quiet through most of the encounter, but suddenly interrupted when she realized what Addison was about to say. "You don't have to…"

"Yeah, I do, Cady." Addison turned to her parents and looked them straight in the eye. "Guess what mom and dad? I had an abortion. I got pregnant while I was screwing my husband's best friend, and I had an abortion because I was selfish and scared. Great irony, huh? Country's foremost neonatal surgeon aborts her own baby? I should be a character on a TV drama!"

Nadine's jaw dropped in shock. "Addison, you…"

"So maybe there's a part of me that thinks that this whole thing was meant to be, that this baby was meant to be a second chance for me and Mark to have a family." Addison confessed. She didn't know when or why tears had started forming in her eyes. "We've made mistakes. We all have. The difference is that Cadence still cares what you think of her, and I certainly don't."

Edmund took a careful step toward his eldest child, as though he was approaching a wild animal. "Addison…"

"I'm not done yet!" Addison raised her voice slightly, and held up her hand to halt her father. "I know you think that Cadence getting pregnant was a mistake, but I, for one, cannot look at that sweet baby and call her a mistake!"

Edmund waited until she had finished her tirade, then slowly drew her into his arms. "Oh, Addie… She's not a mistake. She's beautiful."

Addison allowed her father to hold her for a moment and calmed slightly, then wriggled out of his grasp, remembering that while he was more affectionate, he wasn't innocent in the matter.

"Haven't you made enough money _yet_? Is it so important that you don't know your own daughter? Do you know _anything_ about Cadence?" Addison didn't wait for a response. "She's a wonderful artist. She hates mushrooms. Did you know that she has horrible taste in music? It all sounds like screaming and banging on pots and pans to me. She watches Nickelodeon when she thinks no one's watching… Any of this ringing a bell?"

Edmund gave Addison a slightly guilty look. Nadine, her expression stoic, stared straight ahead.

"I _guarantee_ that you know more about Fable's Creation and Rebel Without a Cause than you do about Cadence!" Addison said, naming the two racehorses that her parents owned. "When I was born, you were young. You weren't successful yet. You spent time with me. When Brad was born, you spent a little less time with him. By the time Cadence was born, you just hired a nanny and forgot about her."

"You work plenty yourself, Addison." Nadine pointed out.

"I do." Addison agreed. "But that changes once Andrea leaves the hospital. I'm going to put everything into being her mother. I would never lie to Andrea and give up on her the way that you did to Cadence when you forced her to come out here."

"Hold it." Edmund put his hand up and glared at his wife. "You lied to her?"

"She lied to both of us." Cadence informed him. "She told me that Addison wanted me to come out here, and she told Addison that I was coming out for a couple of weeks to learn about medicine. Addie didn't know I was pregnant until I got here."

"Nadine…" Edmund ran a hand through his thinning hair. "How could you do this?"

"Ed…" Nadine began. "I was just trying to—"

Edmund shook his head slowly at her in disgust. "I can't look at you right now."

Still shaking his head, Edmund stepped out of the doors of the NICU. Nadine, realizing the kind of trouble she was in with her husband, quickly followed after him.

"Ed, wait…" Nadine called, taking brisk steps to follow him.

"Daddy didn't know…" Cadence said softly once they were alone. "I thought he was in on it."

"So did I…" Addison agreed.

"He's a better parent than she is." Cadence commented. "He works a lot… But at least he cares."

"You don't have to go home with them, Cady." Addison said. "You could stay here with us."

"They're not much sometimes… But they're the only parents we have, Addie." Cadence smiled sadly. "When I'm okay to leave, I'm going back to Connecticut. I miss my friends. I want to spend my senior year of high school with my friends. School doesn't start until after Labor Day. I can still have the chance to do all the normal teenager stuff."

"Okay then." Addison nodded, thinking back to her own senior year and understanding Cadence's wish.

"Thank you for everything." Cadence stood up from her wheelchair with a pained wince and wrapped her arms around Addison. "I couldn't have had Andrea without you."

"Well, since I was your surgeon…" Addison teased.

"You know what I mean…" Cadence said. "I don't know how to thank you for what you're doing for me… For Andrea."

"No…" Addison shook her head. "Thank you, for entrusting us with her. I love you, Cady… And I love Andrea, too."

Cadence smiled a little. "I love you too… And I know you do."

* * *

The drama from the day didn't subside – Edmund refused to speak to his wife, and he and Nadine got separate hotel rooms.

But that night, one couple was happy. Mark and Addison lay happily entwined in their bed, Addison's head resting comfortably on Mark's chest with his arms wrapped snuggly around her.

"Most people have sex, and _then_ become parents. We became parents and then had sex. Is there something wrong with that?" Mark asked, nuzzling her neck.

Addison giggled. "We never were conventional."

"Can I ask you something?" Mark asked.

"Hmmm?" Addison mumbled into his chest.

"Do you ever miss New York?"

Addison considered the question. New York was where her life as she had known it had fallen apart, but she also considered it her home. She loved the bustle and style of the city. "Yes. Sometimes."

"What do you miss?"

"Hmmm…" Addison thought about how to summarize such an amazing city in so few words. "Broadway shows… Central Park… Wandering around The Met on my rare days off… Standing in the middle of Times Square and watching the world go by… Shopping on Fifth Avenue."

Mark rolled his eyes and laughed. "I'm sure that Fifth Avenue misses your American Express card. The retailers probably don't know what to do with the surplus of shoes."

Addison gave him a light shove and Mark gave her a wink, then his face grew serious. "What would you think of moving back there when Andrea is strong enough?"

Addison was silent for a moment, shocked by the question. Not that she had never considered it. She missed New York, and she knew he didn't care much for Seattle. But, they had never really discussed it. "Seriously?"

"We'd be near Cady, so she could get to know Andrea…" Mark said. "We could buy out F.A.O. Schwarz and give Andrea every toy that was ever made… We could teach her to ice skate at Rockefeller Plaza…"

"But you sold your practice." Addison pointed out.

Mark gave her a lopsided grin. "You think some hospital wouldn't want to snatch me up?"

"What about me?" Addison mocked offense.

"You too, I suppose." Mark tickled her lightly, just to hear her laugh.

"I don't know…" Addison sighed. "I'm not sure that I want to work such long hours in a hospital once we have Andrea at home…"

Mark raised a brow. "What would you do then?"

"Well… I've always enjoyed the teaching component of my job." Addison admitted.

"You mean the part you tell me I suck at?" Mark winked.

"You do… Sorry, babe." Addison smiled sweetly.

"So if you love teaching… Are you saying that you're thinking of becoming a professor?" Mark asked.

Addison shrugged. "Maybe. I could spend more time with Andrea that way."

"Professor Addison Forbes Montgomery-Sloan." Mark tried the name out. "That's pretty hot… But I have to tell you, honey, your name sounds like a law firm."

"Thanks a lot." Addison rolled her eyes. "I think we should think about moving back to New York… Maybe it would be good for us."

"And we could role play while we're there…" Mark climbed back on top of her, placing kisses along her collarbone. "I could be the student… You could be the teacher and discipline me…"

Addison laughed, and ran her hands over his body, preparing for round two. "Discipline you? Even _I'm_ not _that_ good of a teacher!"

GAGAGAGAGAGA

_Coming up… Will Addison and Mark decide to move back to New York? What will happen to Addison's family?_


	11. Chapter 11

_All right, kids, this is going to be the last chapter. I thought of having a "goodbye" chapter first between Cadence/Addison/parents, but I didn't see much of a need for it. I'm going to tie up all of the loose ends this way instead. Enjoy, and thank you all so much for reading._

_

* * *

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"Anyone home?" Addison called, stepping inside of her Madison Avenue home one Friday after work. She walked into the living room, looking for signs of her family.

After moving back to New York City, Addison had been able to find a job at Columbia, her alma mater, as a professor and researcher. She greatly enjoyed her work. Whenever particularly delicate neonatal procedures came along, Addison was sought after by the area hospitals where she had privileges, but she didn't consistently work the long hours that were typical of a surgeon. She couldn't believe that she was able to have the best of both worlds.

Addison covered her mouth to keep from laughing at the sight of Mark and Andrea on their living room floor. Mark's hair was separated into tiny sections, which Andrea had apparently fastened into place with small bow clips that were made of pink plastic.

"Hi, mommy!" Andrea jumped up and ran over to Addison, throwing her arms around Addison's legs before she could even put her briefcase down.

"Hi, precious!" Addison stooped to Andrea's level and kissed her on the nose. "Have you been playing salon with daddy?"

Andrea bobbed her head up and down emphatically. "Uh huh! Daddy pretty!"

"He's beautiful, baby!" Addison exclaimed, trying to keep from giggling. "Next time, you should get some of my lipstick and—"

"Addison!" Mark warned.

Addison grinned and stood up, ruffling the 3-year-old's hair. Andrea scampered off to look for a new project, giving Addison the chance to remove the clips from Mark's hair.

"As cute as these are, I think the family would be scared." Addison said with a laugh.

"No doubt." Mark snuck a kiss. "How was work?"

"Good." Addison kissed him again. "I missed you, though."

Mark wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her. "I missed you too. Dinner will be ready by the time everyone gets here."

Mark had started another practice, with a dermatologist, allowing him to set his own hours and have plenty of time with his family.

Addison grinned and kissed his cheek. "I love you. You're so domesticated."

"I love you too. But don't call me domesticated." Mark feigned annoyance, then went back to the dining room to finish preparing dinner.

Andrea was quickly back at Addison's side. She tugged at Addison's engagement ring, which had been joined by a diamond encrusted wedding ring two months after Andrea was born in a small, outdoor ceremony. Addison had worn a gown of Cadence's design, made of blush chiffon. They'd made the move back to Manhattan the following March.

"Shiny!" Andrea exclaimed, examining the large diamond. Addison just laughed.

Andrea looked similar to Cadence and Addison at that age, but with a few differences – Andrea had dark brown eyes (Addison presumed they were a gift from her father, but never asked), a light smattering of freckles across her noses and cheeks, and her red tendrils were in a mass of curls.

Andrea darted off toward the dining room, determined to see whether the table spread that her father was setting up was more interesting than her mother's ring. Addison sank down into the living room couch, watching Andrea explore the dining room. It was hard for Addison to believe that she had once been so tiny with a heart condition. Preston had easily corrected the heart defect with surgery before they left Seattle, and while Andrea was small for her age, she had met her developmental milestones nicely.

"Andrea, no!" Addison exclaimed as her daughter tried to reach for a bottle of Dom Pérignon that was on the table. "Mark, get her!"

Mark reacted quickly, a seasoned pro well-attuned to Andrea's grabby stage by that point in time.

"Hey, no, Andi! That stuff's for grownups." Mark swept Andrea up and covered her face with kisses, much to her delight. He tucked her under his arm like a football while she kicked and laughed, and he hauled her back over to Addison.

"Just like her mom… Trying to down the champagne." He gently dropped Andrea on the couch next to Addison.

"Won't be downing any tonight." Addison said with a slight smile.

"Mmm, nope." Mark crouched beside her and gave her a soft kiss, smiling against her lips. Andrea covered her eyes at the sight of her parents kissing.

"Or for the next 6 months." Addison grinned.

Andrea took off again down the hall, effectively spoiling their moment. Mark sighed. "You're sure you can keep up with another one?"

Addison shrugged. "I like to leave the chasing to you."

Mark made a face and jogged down the hall to catch Andrea. A few moments later, he returned with her riding on his broad shoulders. She was clutching one of her dolls in one hand, and crushing its plastic feet into the top of Mark's head, and a fistful of his hair in the other for balance. If Mark's scalp was in pain, he didn't show it.

Addison smiled at the sight and felt a pang of guilt for thinking that he would be a terrible father. As it turned out, he was a wonderful dad; he worshipped Andrea and she adored him.

"You spoil her too much, babe." Addison shook her head, but she was still smiling.

Mark reached up and lifted Andrea's foot from his shoulder and extended it towards Addison, looking pointedly at the child-sized portion of Prada leather encasing it in the form of a Mary Jane. "_I _spoil her?"

Addison's grin turned sheepish. Mark put Andrea back down next to Addison, again, hoping that she might stay put that time.

Andrea thrust her doll into Addison's arms. "Fix hair, mommy? Pease?"

Addison grimaced at the brand new doll's hair, which had already become inexplicably tied into knots. She patiently worked her fingers through the doll's honey blonde curls, while Andrea turned around and looked out the window eagerly, waiting for Cadence, Edmund, and Emily to arrive.

Emily was Edmund's wife of two years. After everything that happened with Cadence, Edmund could no longer ignore Nadine's affairs (which, Addison learned, he had known about all along) and underhandedness. He filed for divorce immediately after they returned to Connecticut, and she'd moved to Florida with one of her affairs; she hadn't spoken to any of them since.

Addison was fond of Emily. She was a second grade teacher who did not come from money and did not care about it. What Addison liked most about Emily was how happy her father was when he was around her.

"Mamamamamamamama!" The string of syllables came loudly from another room in their home.

"Brock's up from his nap." Mark observed.

Addison smiled and stood up, setting the doll (who had mostly normal hair by then) down on the couch by Andrea. "I'll go get him."

She returned a few minutes later with Brock, who looked much like Mark at one year old, crawling quickly after her. Addison smiled and turned around offering him her hand. She helped him to his feet and he walked for a few steps before falling back on his bottom. His lower lip quivered and he stared up at Addison.

"Awww, you're okay, Brocky!" Addison got down on the floor beside him and pushed his shirt up. She blew raspberries on his stomach, which made him giggle, the small fall quickly forgotten.

The front door was pushed open and Addison heard voices in the foyer. She stood up and walked into the other room to greet her family.

"Cay!" Andrea ran directly to Cadence and held her arms up in the air. "Hi, Cay!"

Cadence smiled and swept Andrea up into an embrace, then tossed her in the air. Andrea loved her Aunt Cadence dearly; she was her favorite relative besides her parents. Addison and Mark had consulted a psychologist about when to tell Andrea that she was adopted. He had suggested that they wait until she was around 5, explaining that she wouldn't have the cognitive ability to process what it meant before then.

"Hi, John!" Andrea waved at him over Cadence's shoulder.

Cadence was in her sophomore year at the Rhode Island School of Design, and seeing John, a senior computer science major at nearby Brown University. Addison and Mark had encouraged Cadence to apply to colleges in New York, but she had decided to go further away, wanting Addison and Mark to form their parental bond with Andrea, and thinking that it might be easier that way. John knew that Cadence was Andrea's birth mother, and was highly supportive of her.

Cadence passed Andrea to Edmund, who was delighted to see his granddaughter. He had reduced his work schedule significantly since his grandchildren were born, and since marrying Emily. He spent a lot of time with Cadence, Addison, Emily, and the kids. Addison decided that he had probably worked so much before not to make money, but to avoid Nadine. He planned to retire that summer.

When Edmund moved out of the way, Addison saw an unexpected figure behind him.

"Brad!" Addison exclaimed, surprised. She hadn't known that her brother was coming. "What are you doing here?"

"Not happy to see me?" Brad frowned and Addison pulled him into a hug.

"Of course I am, I thought you were in Australia!" Addison said.

Brad shrugged. "I hadn't been to the States in 5 years. I decided it was time to visit." Brad stepped to the side and allowed a tall, thin man to follow him inside. "This is my boyfriend, Travis."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Travis." Addison shook his hand warmly.

"All right, so that's my niece…" Brad looked at Andrea. "Now what about my brother-in-law and my nephew?"

Addison pointed toward the direction of the living room and Brad went in to introduce himself, Travis following closely behind him. Addison hugged Cadence, Edmund, and Emily, and then they all moved into the living room, which was adjacent to the dining room.

"Nice digs, sis." Brad nodded his approval. He caught a glimpse of the Dom Pérignon out of the corner of his eye. "Champagne? Ooo la la! What are we celebrating?"

Addison and Mark gave each other side glances.

"Well…" Addison began.

"Oh my God!" Cadence squealed. She jumped up and almost knocked her sister over with a hug. "You're going to have another baby! Aren't you?!"

"Yes." Addison glowed with happiness. "Yes, we are!"

Suddenly, Addison was swarmed with hugs and congratulations from her family members. When the excitement finally died down, Mark cleared his throat.

"Who wants food?" Mark asked.

Everyone began talking at once – all answers that suggested that they _did_, in fact, want food. Mark gestured toward the dining room and everyone headed in there, taking their seats for the meal and leaving Addison and Mark alone in the living room.

"So…" Mark laced his fingers through hers and pulled her to him. "They're happy about the baby."

"Of course they are." Addison smiled.

"We just keep popping them out, huh?" Mark chuckled.

"We?" Addison arched a brow. "I think I'm the one doing the popping here."

Mark placed his hand on Addison's stomach with a smile. "Hey Carissa… Or Christopher. Your crazy ass family loves you already."

Addison laughed. "I can't believe we've already named the baby."

Mark shrugged. "Better than 'it' or some stupid nickname."

Addison nodded her agreement. "This is true." She paused for a moment, then smiled up at him. "Thank you."

Mark was puzzled. "For the sperm? Well, you're welcome, but you definitely had a part in getting that..."

Addison shook her head. "No… For this. For giving me a family and a home… For giving me everything that I've always wanted. I just wish we would have figured all of this out sooner. I love you."

Mark just smiled and kissed her. "I love you too. You were worth the wait. _We_ were worth the wait."

* * *

_Yay, note time!_

_I don't think Prada makes shoes for kids. But hey, we'll call it creative license._

_I couldn't resist having them live on Madison Ave._

_Did anyone notice that I named siblings alphabetically? Addison, Bradford, Cadence… Then Andrea, Brock, Carissa/Christopher… I'm not sure why I did it, but I did do it on purpose, lol._

_So, there you have it. The end. Everyone is happy and __**fertile**__ and yay yay yay the end! I like my endings happy and my Maddison together. Because that's how I roll (unlike Shonda)._

_I am currently formulating an idea for a med school era Addison/Derek/Mark fic… I dunno if it's going to be Maddison or Addek, but stay tuned. ;)_

_Reviews make my day. :)_


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